Smokey Chicken Stroganoff

I watched a lot of Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word earlier this summer. I rather enjoy it - it's a pretty fun show, and although the cooking isn't really in focus, some of the food looks really good. This recipe caught my eye, and although I've changed a few things from the original (which can be found here) it came out delicious. Next time, I'll use crème fraîche rather than sour cream, since I don't really like the graininess the sour cream gets when it's heated.

You can serve this with pasta, bulgur or rice (or anything else you can think of - Ramsay served it with spätzle).

Smokey Chicken Stroganoff
(printable recipe)
serves 2-3

450 g boneless chicken (thighs or breast)
2 tsp smoked paprika (we use the hot kind)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 green pepper, sliced
100 g button mushrooms, sliced
100 ml water
50 ml white wine
50 ml sour cream
75 g sugar snap peas

Start by blanching the sugar snap peas - place them in boiling water for a few minutes, and drain.

Cut the chicken into smaller pieces. Season with smoked paprika and fry in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the pepper and mushrooms and fry those as well. Add the white wine and water, and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through and the liquid has reduced a bit. (Add more water if it looks dry.) Stir in the sour cream and the peas, and serve.

Recipe in Swedish:
Rökig Kycklingstroganoff

Luxury

A real favorite for us is to pick out lots of great charkuteries, add some cheese, maybe some olives, a loaf of bread... and call that dinner.

This spread has bresaola, lomo, pata negra ham, parma ham and Spanish fuet sausage.

Quick dinner

We always keep frozen hamburgers at hand, and hamburger buns as well. They're perfect for a quick dinner. I like my burgers simple - cheese, maybe a slice of onion, and perhaps some hot barbecue sauce - but with a nice salad on the side. This is a potato salad with capers, sunblush tomatoes and feta cheese - it was really good.

Blueberry Scones

Something tasty for a weekend breakfast or brunch, perhaps? I made these last weekend, and my inspiration was perhaps a bit odd. See, we are huge fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and we are re-watching all the episodes. Again. And there's this quote, in season 3, where Giles accuses Wesley of having as much emotional maturity as a... blueberry scone. And I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Blueberry Scones
(printable recipe)
8

500 ml flour, plus 1 tbsp
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
85 g unsalted butter, plus 1 tbsp
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
250 ml single cream (somewhere around 15-20% fat content)
200 ml frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Mix the frozen blueberries with the one tablespoon of flour, and place back in the freezer.

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter - which should be cold - and run until it's mixed in. Move the crumby mixture to a bowl, and add the vanilla and the cream. Fold in the blueberries.

Pat this very sticky dough into a flattish circle, about 3 cm high. Divide into eight wedges, and carefully move the triangles to a lined baking sheet. Leave some room between them, they will rise a bit. Place a little pat of butter on top of each one.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Blåbärsscones

Confetti Risotto

When I grew up, "risotto" meant regular long-grain rice with stuff in it. It was commonly served for school lunch, with little bits of ham, corn and peas, and it was really quite awful. But the combination wasn't bad, and I thought I should make a classic, creamy risotto but with those same add-ins. Perfect!

Space candy

There's a Swedish candy, made by Ahlgrens, called "bilar". That means "cars", and cars they are. Small, foamy cars, in pink, white and green. They're delicious - one of my favorite types of candy. And apparently our Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang likes them too, because he's taking them into space on the soon-to-leave (hopefully) space shuttle! Pretty cool! Because of this, Ahlgrens decided to do a very very very limited run of "space shuttles" rather than cars, in a special bag. They're only making 100 bags - and I have one!

It's up for grabs - just leave a comment (and make sure I can reach you if you win) and tell me what candy YOU would take with you on a space shuttle!

Snaps

We had our annual crawfish party last weekend, and I have to show this very pretty picture. It's vodka, flavored with various things from Dagmar's garden: gooseberries, cherries and wild strawberries. She also made a version with lime, one with cinnamon and one with heather.

These are all very good examples of "snaps", and that is the preferred drink at crawfish parties. That, along with beer.

Lucky us!

We got invited for Apple crumble tonight. Mmmm!

Chili Rosemary Marinated pork

Here's something we've made a lot this summer. It's a really simple marinade, but it goes so well with thin slices of pork. We use pork loin, but feel free to experiment. It's fast and easy to throw on the barbecue, and goes well with any kind of fresh salad. You can top it with some lemon zest and finely chopped cilantro, if you feel like it - it's good without it, too.

Chili Rosemary Marinated pork
(printable recipe)

Serves 4

800 g loin of pork, thinly sliced

marinade:
150 ml olive oil
salt
pepper
1-2 dried chilies (peperoncino), crumbled
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 bay leaves, crumbled



Mix everything and let the meat marinate for at least 3-4 hours. Cook on a barbecue if you can, the slightly charred flavor will be amazing!

Recipe in Swedish:
Chili & Rosmarinmarinerad fläskkarré

My tiny chef

Well, not that tiny! Titus is three months old, and over 7 kilos. He can finally model his very first chef's hat, which he got from our talented friend Nikka. So cute!!

Tickets to Smaklust

***updated*** I wish I had tickets for all you guys! The winner has been contacted - so sorry or those that didn't win.

This weekend, it's time for Smaklust in Stockholm. This is a food festival, celebrating artisan food craft from all over Sweden, and I was at the same event last time they had it - two years ago. I went to a workshop about Suovas and that was really interesting.

I don't know that I'm brave enough to go this year - with the baby - but if you're in Stockholm, you should! The festival itself is free, but you need tickets for the workshops. (You can read more about them here.) As it happens, I have two tickets. If you want them, just leave a comment and I'll randomly draw a winner! But do it fast - I'll pick a winner on Wednesday.

Fish Soup

After making the aioli a few nights ago, I had leftovers. What to do? I wanted fries, but the Swedish potatoes are probaly not starchy enough to make good fries yet, and I wasn't sure about a frittata either. I did a shout-out on Twitter, and ended up craving a fish soup.

Fish isn't really my forte, but this one was a true winner. You can mix and match - add more veggies, other types of fish, shellfish... I used what I had, which was a frozen block of cod fillets, and a few slices of cured salmon - gravlax - and those worked very well.

Fish Soup
(printable recipe)
Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 carrots, coarsely grated
a large handful of shredded leeks
a large handful of finely sliced fennel
150 ml white wine
3 medium potatoes, diced
1-1,5 litres water
2 bay leaves
2 tomatoes, diced
fennel fronds, if your bulb has them
zest from 1/2 lemon
salt, pepper
pinch of sugar
400 g cod, in large dice
100 g cured salmon in thin slices

Heat the oil and fry the carrots on high heat in a big pot. Add the tomato purée and continue frying until the carrots are nicely golden. Add fennel and leeks and fry some more. Add the wine and let it bubble vigorously. Lower the heat and add the potatoes, 1 litre of water and bay leaves. Use the remaining water to thin the soup if you feel that you want to. Simmer, covered, until the potatoes are mostly softened. Remove the bay leaves, and at this point, I used an immersion blender to make the soup a little thicker. I didn't purée it, just blitzed for a little while so that some of it broke up and thickened the rest. Use more water if it gets too thick for your liking.

Season the soup with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Add the diced tomatoes, fennel fronds, and the lemon zest. Now, add the fish - the cod at first, and let that simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the salmon and stir, it'll just take a minute.

Serve with aioli and a tasty bread.

Recipe in Swedish
Fisksoppa

Homemade Aioli

What's your favorite ingredient at the moment? Mine: eggs. It's just so versatile! Yesterday, I had a boiled egg for breakfast, made macarons from egg whites, a lovely buttercream with egg yolks, and then I whipped up a batch of homemade aioli. All very different foods, but all based on eggs. And all absolutely fabulous!

I've never been one to eat a lot of mayo, so I don't really see the point of making my own. However, we had our annual crawfish party last night, and it occurred to me about an hour before the guests were due to arrive that an aioli - that is, a garlicky mayo, popular in France and Spain (where it's called allioli) - would go down very well. I had never made one before, so I googled a few recipes, plucked a little here, a little there, and got started.

Many say that you have to use egg yolks at room temperature - well, I didn't have time, and it turned out fine anyway. I used half olive oil, half neutral rapeseed oil, since I think that all olive oil can be a little over-powering. I used my Kitchen-Aid, but I'm sure a handheld mixer, a blender or even a food processor would work equally well. Or hey, a good old whisk, if you're so inclined!

(...and Swedish eggs don't have salmonella, so I'm not concerned about eating raw yolks. If you are, this recipe is not for you.)

Homemade Aioli
(printable recipe)

2 egg yolks
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (I used white balsamic)
pinch of salt
125 ml rapeseed oil
125 ml olive oil

Mince the garlic. Mix with the egg yolks, lemon, vinegar and salt in a bowl. Start whisking, and while you wisk, add the oils, teaspoon by teaspoon. It will thicken and swell, until you have a lovely fluffy cream.

Keeps for about a week in the fridge.

Recipe in Swedish:
Hemgjord Aioli

Crawfish party!

Frozen Tiramisu Cake

How about a nice dessert for the weekend? This is perfect if you have guests, since it can be prepared in advance... and the leftovers will keep well, too, as long as you keep them frozen.

I love tiramisu - but mostly the creaminess, and not so much the boring sponge. This cake has less cake, and more frozen creamy goodness, so I find it rather perfect. I think it'd be nice to add some more chocolate - maybe chocolate sponge layers, or a thin layer of chocolate mousse... or truffle. Well, that's for another time.

You can use store-bought cake layers, or make your own - I went with ones from the store.

Frozen Tiramisu Cake
(printable recipe)

4 eggs
150 ml sugar, divided
500 g mascarpone
100 ml marsala wine
200 ml cream (heavy, double, whipping or whatever the fattiest one is called in your country.)
2 layers from a pre-made cake
3 tbsp frangelico or amaretto liqueur
5 tbsp strong coffee or espresso, cooled
15 dark chocolate disks, for decoration
cocoa powder, for decoration

Separate the eggs into yolks and whites and place in two bowls. Beat the egg whites with 50 ml of the sugar until they're stiff and glossy. Beat the yolks with the remaining 100 ml of sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in the mascarpone and the marsala.

Whisk the cream until thick and fluffy, and fold into the egg yolk mixture. Finally fold in the egg whites.

Mix coffee and frangelico or amaretto in a small bowl.

Place one cake layer in a springform tin (mine is 24 cm in diameter). Spoon over half of the coffee mixture, and then half of the creamy filling. Place the other cake layer on top, moisten with the rest of the coffee mix and cover with the rest of the filling.

Place in the freezer for at least five hours, or over night. Let it soften slightly before serving, and decorate with chocolate disks and cocoa powder.

Recept på engelska:
Frusen tiramisutårta

Fast Food At Home: Falafel

Fast food at home - just not so fast! I have to admit that I prefer to use a mix for falafel rather than making them from scratch. It's a bit embarrassing - but I just haven't had much luck making them myself. Anyway - we make them according to the instructions on the box, and eat them with fresh veggies and "raitziki" in pita breads. Lovely!

Chanterelles are here again

Well, I have chanterelles all year round in my freezer, if I'm lucky - but it's now that they're actually in season! If you can find some, either in the forest or in the supermarket, do try an omelet. They go so well with the creamy eggs. Just fry them up in a separate pan with some butter, salt and black pepper, add more things if you'd like (we had arugula) and then use them to top a plain omelet.

Classic

Coffee and a cinnamon bun at Helmers konditori in Mora.

Fast Food At Home: Pad Thai

Our favorite thing to order from our local Thai place is Chicken Pad Thai. They make it so well, and it really is delicious. Sadly, it's also pretty pricey. (We pay 110 SEK per portion, which is about $15.) When shopping at one of the Asian stores in the city, my eye fell on a jar of Pad Thai Sauce, and I brought it home. It sat undisturbed in my cupboard for several months - I'm really not adventurous and quite wary - especially of canned things. Finally though, I tried it. And it was great! We'll most definitely be making our own Pad Thai again - it's even faster than driving to the take out place. I actually tried making my own sauce too, but more on that for another day.

Melander's Shrimp Sandwich

I can't remember if I've already told you about this, but I can't find a post so probably not! It's one of our newest fast-food finds, and it's tons better than the usual suspect, both in terms of flavor and healthiness. Unfortunately in price, as well, but once in a while, it's definitely worth it.

So - what is it? It's a shrimp sandwich. It's quite traditional in Sweden - usually a mound of fresh shrimp on a soft and slightly sweet bread, with sliced boiled eggs and mayonnaise. This one also has avocado and tomato, and a little bit of lettuce. What you can't really tell from the photo is the size - this thing was huge! It's the size of a dinner plate, and was plenty of food for two meals. We had mistakenly bought one each, but there was no way we could finish them. Next time, we'll share!

Where to get this deliciousness then? Melander's Fisk in Nacka Forum, and possibly in their other locations as well, but I can't say for sure. It costs 175 SEK, but I assure you that it's well worth it.

Zabaglione Gelato

I've only made ice cream once so far this summer, but with all the egg yolks I keep getting from my macaron experiments, I hope I can make some more soon. Having just opened a bottle of marsala, I wanted to try this zabaglione gelato from my favorite ice cream book: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. I loved it, especially with fresh strawberries, but my ungrateful husband thought it tasted too alcoholic and even compared it to the old alcopop Hooper's Hooch! Suffice to say, I finished it myself.

Zabaglione Gelato
(printable recipe)

250 ml full-fat milk
130 g sugar
pinch of salt
finely zested peel of a small lemon
6 egg yolks
375 ml double cream
125 ml marsala

Pour the cream into a large bowl and place a sieve on top.

Mix milk, sugar, salt and lemon zest in a sauce pan and warm until the sugar has dissolved.

Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. While whisking, slowly add the warm milk mixture. When everything is mixed, pour it back into the saucepan, and gently heat until the mixture thickens. It will take a few minutes on medium heat and you have to stir it the whole time.

Pour the creamy mixture through the sieve and into the cream. Mix well, and add the marsala. Place to cool completely, preferrably in the fridge over night. Run in an ice cream machine according to instructions - mine took about 25 minutes. Scrape into a container and keep in the freezer.

Recipe in Swedish:
Zabaglione Gelato

A great "'wich" from 'Wichcraft

I know of Tom Colicchio from Top Chef, which is hands down one of my favorite TV shows. I've never had the opportunity to eat at any of his establishments, and being the book junkie I am, I was thrilled when 'Wichcraft came out. It has a clever tagline - "Craft a sandwich into a meal - and a meal into a sandwich". And some of the sandwiches are very clever indeed - I can't wait to try the red wine-braised flank steak with roasted peppers, onions and gruyère, or the fairly simple breakfast sandwich with kumquat-rosemary marmalade on goat cheese.



So far though, I've only made one sandwich, but several times. It's really simple - caramelized onions with a little bit of oregano, and cheese. Colicchio uses gruyère, but I've also used a well-aged Dutch cheese to great success, and honestly, as long as the cheese has plenty of flavor, it should do very well in this.

Lavender Macarons with Chocolate Honey Ganache

Another macaron attempt! It went very well this time as well - I really feel like I'm getting the hang of this! Not only is it great fun, but they taste so good. I served these for Titus' baptism party along with lots of other goodies, and they were extremely popular. I really liked the combination of the floral lavender flavor with the bitterness of the chocolate, tempered by the sweetness of the honey. White chocolate ganache would also have been nice!

Lavender Macarons with Chocolate Honey Ganache
18-20 filled cookies
(printable recipe)

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar (or in my case, homemade vanilla sugar)
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
1/2 tbsp dried lavender
violet food coloring (I use Wiltons gel colors)

160 g dark chocolate
100 ml double cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp runny honey

Combine powdered sugar, lavender and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together along with the food coloring. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. If you'd like, sprinkle some extra ground almonds on half of them. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 15-20 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and 15 minutes was perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Chocolate Honey Ganache:

Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Mix cream and honey in a small saucepan and heat until just about boiling. Pour this over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Add a pinch of salt. Let the ganache cool until it's thick enough to spread - you can speed this up by placing it in the fridge for a while. If it gets too thick, it can be heated gently in the microwave until it's the right consistency. Spread some on half of the macaron shells, top with the rest, and press down gently. Keep cookies in fridge for a few days, freeze or eat right away!

Recipe in Swedish:
Lavendelmacarons med chokladganache

Lunch

Chicken salad with edamame, cucumber, nectarine, avocado, peppers and parmesan.